AROUND 70 workers lost their jobs after a Gwent manufacturing firm failed to attract a buyer to save the business.

All work has ceased at sheet metal manufacturer Harlow Pressings Ltd on the Llantarnam Industrial Estate, Cwmbran, after the company went into administration eight months ago. Twenty workers were made redundant in August.

Administrators had kept the business producing since the problems arose last year but a proposed buyout deal at the end of February fell through and the decision was taken to close the factory. The company had fallen an estimated £1.2 million into the red.

Mark Robson, 45, from Cwmbran, is losing his job as operations manager. He will finish after he has helped clear the factory of equipment and supplies.

The vast majority of the workforce have already left. Mr Robson said: "It's very sad and a lot of people were upset. Most of them have been here six or seven years and are very loyal.

"We were always hopeful. I was like everyone else and thought the magic wand would be waved and everything would be alright."

Mr Robson praised the administrators' efforts and said he hoped he and other workers would be able to find work soon.

He said the firm's difficulties began after they lost a major contract with Sony just before Christmas when the music giant closed its Bridgend site.

All staff at the firm were paid the wages owed to them. Darren Wilson, of Vantis Redhead Franch Administrators, praised the "loyal" workforce and said they had no option but to shut down the site. "Everyone is disappointed but it just didn't work out," said Mr Wilson. "We hope they will all be able to find new jobs soon."

The firm originally opened at the Pontypool site in 1991 and provided metal parts for electrical goods.